Last year I posted an ABC reading challenge, just for fun. I started out strong, then I started skipping around and letting the books I wanted to read take cuts. And I never went back to some of them. Click here to see my original list.

Now, last year I read dozens more books that were not on my ABC challenge list. It might be interesting for me to try and keep track of how many books I read in one year. But I didn't keep track of everything I read, only the ones on my list, since I had printed it out so I could cross off titles.

Here are my results.

From my list, I read:Alanna by Tamora Pierce - This was okay.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Loved this one!Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Enjoyed this one. Lots of fun.Dune by Frank Herbert - This book was amazing, but I couldn't read it quickly.The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - Again, an amazing book, but I had to take my time.Feed by M. T. Anderson - Very interesting, but a little depressing.The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale - Loved this one. Very cool. Disney should make this into a movie.Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen - LOVED THIS! And then I got to meet him and brag about it.The Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers - Floored by this novel. I can't believe it took me so long to read it.Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien - This one was okay.I did not read:

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne JonesIntervention by Terri BlackstockThe Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick NessLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryThe Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart and Carson Ellis Neverwhere by Neil GaimanOwlflight by Mercedes LackeyPeter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley PearsonQuentin Durward Sir Walter Scott Redwall by Brian JacquesThe Spirit Well by Stephen LawheadThis Lullaby by Sarah DessenUncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe White Oleander by Janet FitchXenocide by Orson Scott CardYsabel by Guy Gavriel KayWhat's next:
I decided I didn't like trying to force myself to read a book just because I needed a title with the letter Q. So for this next year, I've made a new list. Books I want to read and plan to read. And I will add books to the bottom of the list that I randomly read so that I can see how many books I read in a year.

So, rather than 26 books with a title for each letter of the alphabet, here is my To Read list in no particular order, we'll see how I do this time.

Books I want to read and plan to read:

Fool's Assassin by Robin HobbLight of Eidon by Karen HancockThe Pillars of the Earth by Ken FollettA Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensFirstborn by Lorie Ann GroverRemnants by Lisa T. BergrenThe Way of Kings by Brandon SandersonThe Gunslinger by Stephen KingGreen Rider by Kristen BritainUnbroken by Laura HillenbrandThe Dancing Master by Julie KlassenThe Silent Governess by Julie KlassenThe Archer's Tale by Bernard CornwellAs Sure as the Dawn by Francine RiversThrone of Glass by Sarah J. MaasShip of Magic by Robin HobbShaman's Crossing by Robin HobbShadow's Edge by Brent WeeksThe Silver Hand by Stephen LawheadThe Endless Knot by Stephen LawheadThe Well of Ascension by Brandon SandersonThe Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series by Brandon SandersonThe Runaway King by Jennifer NielsenThe Shadow Throne by Jennifer NielsenThe Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Did you do the ABC Reading Challenge? If so, how did you do? And, either way, what's on your To Read list for the next year?

29 comments:

I was so excited to see The Mysterious Benedict Society on your list, then I saw it was on the list of books you didn't read. I didn't do the ABC Reading Challenge. My to-read list for next year? Hmm...The King's Scrolls comes out next year sometime. I really want to read that. Other than that I have no idea

I once tried a game on goodreads called book cover bingo, were each week something was called and we had to read a book with that on the cover. Things like dog, blue, hat... I hated it! I would have a book I wanted to read, but had to wait on because I had to finish another book for the bingo, sometimes books I had never intended to read other wise.

I've tried to keep track of books I read on Goodreads. But I'm not good at keeping it up to date, and I hate writing reviews, so...

Pillars of the Earth is amazing. But it's very ... gritty.

Ben tried The Gunslinger and didn't finish it. (Which he rarely does.) He said he didn't understand it and didn't like the characters. He's read tons of other Stephen King he loves, and he loves fantasy, so he thought it would be a slam dunk. Didn't work out that way though :(

Clearly I'm procrastinating on editing because I just took the time to update my Goodreads page. *Eye roll* Jill, if I later complain to you about my limited work time, I give you permission to remind me of this.

I own Pillars of the Earth, Gunslinger, and Unbroken. So I'm sure I'll get to them all eventually. I read the first chapter of Gunslinger and put it down. I was bored! People have told me the other books are better, but I don't want to start with a book two.

You should still add Howl's Moving Castle, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Redwall from the original to your new list! Oh, and if you haven't managed to read the Tales of Goldstone Wood, I cannot express to you how badly you're missing out. :)

The Voice in the Wind was really, really good, Jill. The trilogy kind of pushed the line for what I'm willing to read in some areas, but was so incredibly deep.

Unbroken is on my to-read list as well.

And I think you'll like Jennifer Nielsen's books. They're very solidly middle-grade writing style, but if you're okay with that, they're a lot of fun. She's one of the only people I've read who can pull off writing in first person while withholding from the readers significant information that the main character knows.

I loved Voice in the Wind and the second one. Haven't read book three yet, but I own it. And we own all three Jennifer Nielsen books, but I'm reading them aloud to my kids, so that takes a lot longer at one chapter a night here and there. :-)

I also read Cinder and The Book Thief this year. I loved the sci-fi twist on an old fairy tale in Cinder and I was astonished at the uniqueness of Markus Zusak's voice. I also read Scarlet, which I thought was even better than Cinder because it wasn't predictable like Cinder was, and the tension just kept on rising and rising. I have yet to read Cress, but I just borrowed it from the library and I have high hopes for the quality of the book. You definitely have to read The Mysterious Benedict Society and Uncle Tom's Cabin! They will both add variety to your reading because while The Mysterious Benedict Society is a fun, imaginative read, Uncle Tom's Cabin is a very real and deeply moving story. The books that I plan to read from your list are Unbroken, Peter and the Starcatchers and The Goose Girl. I am actually going to read Unbroken for my school summer reading assignment. My school gave me a list of books and of course I had to choose Unbroken because it is about a long distance running (I love long distance!) and my dad recommended it to me. I'm so excited to read it!

I didn't do the challenge and have read exactly none of the books on your list. Although I did start Uncle Tom's Cabin. Never finished it though. :)

Here's some of the books I want to read this summer:1.Revolutionary by Krista McGee (last book in the trilogy - so excited!)2.Dark Blue and Harsh Pink in Melody Carlson's Color Me series3.So Not Okay by Nancy Rue4.The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill 5.Sierra Jensen by Robin Jones Gunn6.The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson 7.Me, Just Diffferent by Stephanie Morrilland there's probably more books too. :)

Redwall wasn't good as I had expected, given all the hype- however I am so sad you didn't get to experience Peter and the staracatchers and the mysterious benedict society- those are in my top five ever.

I didn't complete mine either, though I probably will eventually. :P But it is hard to find interesting books for some of those letters! You should read Mysterious Benedict Society though. I have a lot of other books to read so who knows how long this list will take? I might end up shifting around haha.

For my reading list... Definitely looking forward for "The King's Scrolls" to come out next year. It's the second book in the Ilyon Chronicles (series of six) by Jaye L. Knight. They are Christian fantasy and the first one, Resistance, was GREAT!- Katie

Aghh! I love that you read Goose Girl by Shannon Hale! The character progression in that story is phenomenal! If Disney made that into a movie, I'd be at the midnight premiere. I'll have to check out some of the others on that list. :)